AOC and friends are furious!
With control of the House, Senate and Presidency, Democrats expected to get everything they wanted politically this time around. However, sadly that was not the case when it came to the Pentagon policy bill.
According to Yahoo, The compromise National Defense Authorization Act which is expected to reach Biden’s desk for signing proved to be a major loss for the Democrats and a major win Conservatives.
Far-left progressives such as Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others were also furious that the Republican party’s high-profile defense bill received more votes than expected as well.
Things that many progressives wanted such as requiring women to register for the draft, cracking down on Saudi Arabia and imposing sanctions on Russia were removed. Furthermore, reforms to the military justice system and efforts to combat extremism in the ranks were also pulled back.
Republican Senator Roger Wicker was thankful for how things turned out saying, “There were several real sticks of dynamite that were defused. And I’m glad we substantially increased Biden’s defense proposal on a bipartisan basis.”
Progressive Democrat Elizabeth Warren wasn’t so happy on the other hand. Warren condemned the compromise package for its “failure to include a robust response to sexual violence and to deal with extremism in the military.”
Adding, “And I’m concerned about what got left in, and that is an additional $25 billion in defense spending that the White House didn’t even ask for. I think both of those are wrong.”
Progressives are still hoping Biden will reconsider but it’s unlikely.